The Crazy Calendar of a Revolutionary Republic | The Curious Rambler The Crazy Calendar of a Revolutionary Republic The French Revolutionaries weren’t content with just changing their government. They wanted to change everything – even how they kept track of time. The Calendar Committee The old Gregorian calendar was filled with religious holidays and saint days, and that just wouldn’t do for the new Republic’s idea of Separation of Church and State. So a committee was formed to design a more suitable “Republican calendar”. This group of learned men included politicians, mathematicians, astronomers, a chemist, a gardener, and a poet. (Shouldn’t all committees include a poet?) The Beginning The first order of business was to set a start date for their new calendar. All agreed that since the formation of the Republic was the beginning of a new era for France, everything should be dated from then. It just so happened that September 22, 1792 (the date the Republic was established) was also the Autumn Equinox. It seemed that even the planets had aligned to celebrate the new age of the French Republic. So September 22, 1792 was declared day 1 of month 1 of year 1.

Moving along, the mathematicians decided that some things could remain the same. The year could still be divided into 12 months, but everyone agreed that the months needed a major revamp. What Month is It? First of all, the months would need new names. While the committee had nothing against the Roman gods who presided over the old Gregorian calendar, they wanted their “Republican months” to be inspired by nature. The new month names would reflect weather conditions during that particular time of year. And this is where the poet came in – after the astronomers and the gardener determined the normal climatic conditions for the month, the poet coined an appropriate name. Each season was made up of three months whose names had the same rhyming ending. For example, the winter months were Nivôse, Pluviôse, and Ventôse. The year started in Autumn since that was when the French Republic was born. The first day of the year was Vendémiaire 1.

Autumn Months: Vendémiaire, meaning grape harvest (22 September – 21 October) Brumaire, meaning foggy (22 October – 20 November) Frimaire, meaning cold (21 November – 20 December) Winter Months: Nivôse, meaning snowy (21 December – 19 January) Pluviôse, meaning rainy (20 January – 18 February) Ventôse, meaning windy (19 February – 20 March) Spring Months: Germinal, meaning germination (21 March – 19 April) Floréal, meaning flowering (20 April – 19 May) Prairial, meaning meadow (20 May – 18 June) Summer Months: Messidor, meaning harvest (19 June – 18 July) Thermidor, meaning heat (19 July – 17 August) Fructidor, meaning fruiting (18 August – 16 September) *The dates are approximate and changed from year to year. Will the British Follow Suit?

George Ellis, an English satirical poet, was so inspired by the descriptive French months that he decided to write a poem suggesting his own tongue-in-cheek names for the English calendar, but he kept January as the first month. It’s surprising the British didn’t take to these catchy calendar names. Weeks or Decades? After the months were all named, they were divided into 3 ten-day weeks, called decades. The committee must have been getting tired when it came time to name the 10 days of the week though. They were called primidi, duodi, tridi, etc. That basically means, “first day, second day, third day, etc. up through tenth day.” And the tenth day of every week was special – it was a day of rest. Left-overs After each month had been assigned its 30 days, the committee found they had some left-overs. There were five extra days at the end of the year (or six extra days in leap year) which didn’t belong in any month. These days were proclaimed as national holidays and named after Republican qualities. They would be known as Virtue Day, Talent Day, Labor Day, Opinion Day, and Honors Day.

The leap year holiday would be Revolution Day. Saint Days/Name Days They were almost finished, but they still had to deal with “saint days”. Under the Catholic Gregorian calendar, each day of the year was named after a saint. It was almost like a little second birthday for the person whose name matched the “saint of the day”. They might receive a little gift, or at least people would wish them a happy “name day.” But under the Republican calendar, there would be no saints. Each day was given a name from some aspect of rural life. They were named after animals, plants, minerals, and farm implements. Problems When the committee finally finished their Republican calendar, they were pleased as Punch with the “improvements” they had made. It got the stamp of approval and went into effect October 6, 1793. But it wasn’t without its problems… First of all, the French people were pretty clever, and they noticed right away that they now had to work 9 days before getting their “day of rest” instead of 6 days under the old calendar. Secondly, month names described weather conditions in northern France. What about the southern part of the country?

Or the nations France conquered and imposed their calendar upon? For example, tropical African colonies that had never seen snow, would have a month called “Snowy” – it just didn’t make sense. Thirdly, people rather liked their “saint name” days. Was anyone going to think about buying them a gift or wishing them well on turnip day or billy goat day? And finally, there were no holidays except the five or six days at end of the year! What French person could wait 12 months for a holiday? With 9-day work weeks, month names that only described northern France, no “second birthdays”, and no holidays until year end, it’s surprising the Republican calendar lasted the 12 or so years that it did. It was used from 1793 to 1805 and again for 18 days in 1871 during the Commune of Paris (an insurrection that lasted 2 months). Finally, Napoleon put France back on the Gregorian calendar January 1, 1806 as part of the Concordat of 1801, which was an agreement that improved relations between France and the Catholic church.

*Don’t Miss Anything – If you would like to receive an email every time I post an article (2-3 times per month), sign up to follow my blog. You’ll find the button just above my photo. And, of course, you can always leave a comment below. Thank you for reading. If you would like to share this article: What’s in a date: The meaning of June 23 – POLITICO Print The date of June 23 is now destined for a glittering place in the calendar of contemporary British history, having been designated the day for a referendum on whether Britain should remain part of the EU. But even before David Cameron set the date , June 23 had, over the centuries, acquired some significance. What might some of those previous June 23s presage for the outcome of the referendum? The Scottish question The Battle of Bannockburn began on June 23, 1314. Unusually for a medieval battle, it didn’t end on the same day. The Scots’ victory over the English — which ensured that Robert the Bruce became a Scottish folk hero — did not come until the next day.

But June 23 saw the opening of what is sometimes known as the First War of Scottish Independence. Nowadays, people are warning that the referendum of June 23, 2016 might yet trigger another battle for Scottish independence. The Scottish National Party says that if the referendum decides that the U.K. should leave the EU, then there should be another referendum on Scottish independence. Marriage of convenience On June 23, 1661, after negotiations between England and Portugal, a contract was signed for the marriage of Catherine of Braganza to King Charles II. In the days before the European Union, the marital arrangements of heads of state were a means to secure diplomatic relations. The marriage contract involved promises of territory for England in North Africa (Tangiers) and India (Bombay) and trading privileges for the British in the Portuguese territory of Brazil. In return, Portugal obtained the military support of the British against the Spanish.

The diplomacy of 1661 failed to bear fruit in one important respect: Catherine bore Charles no heir, so the crowns of England, Scotland and Ireland passed to his brother James, whose brief reign of unflinching Catholicism prompted a revolution and forced the parliament to turn for a successor to a Dutch protestant. Nowadays, there is much speculation about what diplomatic and trading relations Britain might put in place to supplant its membership of the EU in the event of a Brexit . In this day and age, royal marriages are unlikely to be so rewarding. Revolution time In France, June 23 might be remembered as a landmark in the country’s constitutional history were it not for the peculiarities of the French revolutionary calendar. For it was on June 23, 1795 that the national convention published a new constitution — what became known as the constitution of Year III — which was ratified on August 22, 1795. But owing to the suppression of the old calendar, and the renaming of the months of the year, the constitution is remembered as being published on 5 Messidor (from the Latin name for harvest) and passed on 5 Fructidor.

The constitution established a bicameral legislature with an executive directory of five. But it did not last long: It was ended by Napoleon Bonaparte’s coup in 1799. David Cameron is hoping that the referendum of June 23, 2016 has more enduring effect. Tim King Suez crisis The Brexit referendum will not be the first such vote that has been held on June 23. On that date in 1956, a referendum in Egypt confirmed General Gamal Abdel Nasser as president. Nasser had come to power in a coup in 1952. The referendum, and the accompanying promulgation of a new constitution, dashed the hopes of Britain and France that they might be able to unseat Nasser, whom they regarded as a threat to their regional interests in the Middle East. Nasser’s decision to nationalize the Suez canal affirmed their worst fears and they resorted to skulduggery. A few months later, Israel invaded Egypt, with the covert backing of France and Britain. The subsequent Suez Crisis proved a humiliation for Britain whose supposedly special relationship with the U.S. proved worthless, as the value of sterling plummeted.

Anthony Eden, the prime minister, resigned with his health broken. The crisis threw into flux Britain’s relations with France, arguably helping the Franco-German alliance in what became the European Community. The military historian Michael Howard wrote: “It was not so much that the affair marked the end of Britain as a Great Power: it marked our end as a good power, one that could normally be expected to act honorably.” After Suez it was clear there were two super-powers — America and Russia, and the latter used the cover of the crisis to quell the uprising in Hungary. Treaty change The European Union’s current constitutional arrangements — the ones that David Cameron now claims to have negotiated some significant exception from — stem from an agreement achieved on June 23, 2007. Official history may record that the European Council met on June 21-22, under the chairmanship of Angela Merkel. But more detailed accounts disclose that agreement was not reached until the early hours of Saturday morning — June 23. This was the summit that put together the pieces that had been broken when the French and Dutch voted in referendums in 2005 to reject the EU’s proposed constitutional treaty.

The EU’s response was to try again, but without the grandiose claims that had accompanied the would-be constitution. The European Council conclusions agreed on June 23, 2007 set the EU on the path to what is now the Lisbon treaty — still in force today. It ordered the creation of an intergovernmental conference to draw up “a reform treaty” and it gave the outline of that treaty’s provisions. Whether one regards this as a good or bad omen for the Brexit referendum rather depends on one’s view of the Lisbon treaty. Some will regard it as evidence that the EU ignores popular votes. Others will see in it evidence of the EU’s extraordinary capacity to come bouncing back from defeat. Related stories on these topics: French Revolution: Search Sieyès, "What Is the Third Estate?" (1789) EmmanuelJoseph Sieyès was born at Fréjus, 3 May 1748. He was educated at a Jesuit school, became a licentiate of the canon law, and was appointed vicargeneral by the bishop of Chartres.

He first came into prominence with the publication of his pamphlet, "Quest ce que le tiers état?" In 1789, he was elected delegate to the EstatesGeneral from Paris, and in the preliminary struggle for organization was made spokesman of the Third Estate. The policy indicated in his pamphlet was one actually carried out in the conservative period of the Revolution. As the Revolution progressed, Sieyès dropped out of sight and had the good fortune to escape death. When asked, at a later period, what he had done during the Terror, he summed up his whole experience in the words: "I existed." In 1795, he again came forward and was appointed member of a commission to draft a new constitution. His views did not obtain prominence in the constitution of 1795, and he refused to accept a position in the directory of the new government. Sieyès took part with Napoleon in the coup détat of 18 Brumaire and was made one of the provisional consuls with Napoleon and Ducos. Later on he was made a count of the empire and given extensive estates as a reward for his services to France. This marks Sieyèss final retirement from public life.

He fled to Brussels on the second return of the Bourbons, returned after the revolution of 1830, and died in Paris on 20 June 1836. The Trial of Olympe de Gouges The case against Olympe de Gouges is worth reading in detail because it is typical of the attacks on those who criticized the authority of the central government that gathered force in the fall of 1793 and continued up to July 1794, when Robespierre fell from power. Gouges, an advocate of increased popular consultation, criticized the National Convention, calling its members ambitious men. This criticism was a far greater factor in the decision to sentence her to death than was her public support of womens rights. Revolutionary Armies in the Provinces: Toulouse (September 1793) At the demand of patriots in Paris and the provinces, the National Convention sent irregular units to the countryside and to cities where resistance to the Revolution had appeared.

In this report from Toulouse, the Convention, through the medium of its Committee of Public Safety, learns that this strategy was highly effective in winning support for the government and, as the correspondent writes, "converting . . . political sinners." The Calendar A reformed calendar was a goal of the revolutionaries who sought to remake not only the political system and the social order, but also the very experience of life. To rid the calendar of the malign influence of Christianity as a bulwark of tradition, in the fall of 1793 the Convention set up a committee to draft a new secular, rational calendar. Headed by the Dantonist PhilippeFrançois Fabre dEglantine, the committee filed the report excerpted below in October 1793. "Letter to Fréron: Émigrés Return" by Thérèse Bouisson Once in power, the Directorial government appeared poised to preserve the gains of the Revolution while undoing what some considered the excesses of the period of Jacobin ascendancy. Yet precisely what the Revolutions gains werebeyond the elimination of the monarchy and remnants of feudalismremained unclear.

One perspective, that of the émigré nobles, held that the fall of the Convention signaled a restoration of their confiscated lands, which they reappropriated from those who had purchased them earlier in the decade. In this letter, the widow of one such purchaser, a sailor killed in combat, appeals to the government to recognize her right to the newly acquired lands over the claims of the returning noble family from whom they had been seized. The Gilded Youth Across France, the period of the Directory witnessed revenge against those who had carried out revolutionary justice during the Terror. Opponents of the Jacobins forced them from office and sought to prevent them from participating in politics. In Paris, this socalled white terror was carried out by the "Gilded Youth," a gang of youths from wealthy backgrounds who considered themselves the antithesis of the sansculottes and whose actions eventually helped pressure the government to close down the Paris Jacobin Club, as we see in the excerpts of the memoirs of a leftwing politician from late 1794.

Revival of the Mountain The Directorys constitution had ensured the rights of assembly, free speech, and a limited suffrage; for former Jacobins now deprived of their clubs and of their power in the legislature, these constitutional liberties offered the potential to rebuild a democratic movement. To others, especially the Directorys leaders, the possibility of a revived network of clubs and newspapers represented more than just a desire to participate in politics under the terms of the new constitution; such a revival was too evocative of the Terror. Thus, one such leader, AntoineClaire Thibaudeau wrote here of Jacobin speeches in the legislature as trying "to reestablish the Terror." Brumaire: Bonapartes Justification Having seized power through the coup of 18 Brumaire [9 November 1799], Bonapartenow First Consulset out to win public support for yet another new government. His first public pronouncement was the proclamation reprinted below, in which he claims he had acted to defend liberty and the republic against internal enemies.

The proclamation, accompanied by similar proclamations from all the new ministers of the government, elaborated Napoleons vaguer but more oftcited statement to his fellow citizens that "reduced to the principles on which it had been started, the French Revolution is over!" The Council of FiveHundred Concurs The Council of FiveHundred, the lower house of the legislature under the Directorys constitution, put up only token resistance to the coup of 18 Brumaire [9 November 1799]. By the following day, this bodyin principle, made up of the representatives of the French people and the central institution of republican governmenthad concurred completely in Bonapartes revision to the constitution and issued this proclamation, which described the coup to be a victory for "the Republic and liberty" against royalism. Yet again, a regime had come to power claiming to be initiating a "new era" for "the peoples of Europe." Primary Schools During the period of revolutionary government, the Jacobins had introduced the idea of universal, free, secular education provided by the state.

The Jacobins conceived of education not only as a means of improving the citizenrys skill level for economic purposes but also, and more important, as a means of rooting out tradition (i.e., Christianity) and implanting enlightened, revolutionary values as a strategy of ensuring broad support for the Republic among future generations. The Thermidorean Convention and the Directory preserved and even expanded on this goal, legislating a system of public primary education for all girls and boys, to be taught by instructors chosen for their merit, paid by the state (rather than their students families), and committed to imparting knowledge and republican values. The decree creating primary schools, was promulgated by the Convention on 17 November 1794 [27 Brumaire, Year III]. Chapter 7: War, Terror, and Resistance Complicating the controversy over the monarch in 1792 was the beginning of the war between France and the royal heads of state in Europe. Totally unprepared for war, the French immediately suffered losses; the popularity of the government, and indeed of the Revolution, waned. By the summer of 1793, France was increasingly divided between supporters and opponents of the Revolution.

This chapter follows the efforts of those who favored continuing the Revolution and their reliance on terror to stay in power. The opposition to their measures only mounted as the war continued into 1794. But eventually the Terrorists would triumph at home and abroad. This victory in August 1794 relieved the country of the need for such stringent regulation and this powerful government led by Robespierre fell. Over the next four years, France would be consumed by a continuing battle over the course of the country. Bonaparte, First Consul of the French Republic, 18 Brumaire, Year VIII From the beginning it was clear that Napoleons political support was closely tied to his fortunes in war. This engraving celebrates the victory over the Austrians at the battle of Marengo in Italy, June 1800. In fact, he almost lost this battle, but government propaganda rarely mentioned any such problems. Both in this image here and in the written report, it is described as a major victory.

Karl Marx: The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte The German philosopher and founder of international communism, Karl Marx (181883), wrote on many occasions about the French Revolution, which he considered the first stage in an eventual worldwide proletarian revolution. In this relatively early work from 1852, Marx compares the French Revolution of 1789 with that of 1848. Marx considered the French Revolution the classic example of the "bourgeois revolution," in which capitalism overthrew feudalism, creating the legal conditions under which capitalism could flourish. CONSUL In the aftermath of the coup of 18 Brumaire (9 November), the Constitution of the Year VIII (1799) gave executive power to three consuls who also exercised almost all legislative authority. Provisionally, the first consul was Napoléon Bonaparte; the second, Roger Ducos; and the third, Emannuel- Joseph Sieyès. Later, Ducos and Sieyès were replaced by Jean-Jacques-Réné Cambacérès and Charles-François Lebrun, who did much of the legislative work of government under the Consulate.

The Consulate was replaced by the Empire in 1804. COUNCIL OF ELDERS The upper house of the legislature established by the Constitution of 1795. The Council of Five Hundred was the lower house. Deputies were elected (indirectly) to three-year terms. There was a major shift in the political views of the deputies selected in each election. Royalists did well in the Year V (1797), and the Jacobins recovered in the Year VI (1798). Each time the executive, known as the Directory, moved to arrest or exclude significant numbers of deputies. The councils staged their own coup in June 1799. Dissatisfied, a group led by Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyès in turn planned their own coup, which took place on 18 Brumaire, Year VIII (9 November 1799) that put Napoleon Bonaparte in power. COUNCIL OF FIVE HUNDRED The lower house of the legislature established by the Constitution of 1795. The Council of Elders was the upper house. Deputies were elected (indirectly) to three-year terms.

There was a major shift in the political views of the deputies selected in each election. Royalists did well in the Year V (1797), and the Jacobins recovered in the Year VI (1798). Each time, the executive, known as the Directory, moved to arrest or exclude significant numbers of deputies. The councils staged their own coup in June 1799. Dissatisfied, a group led by Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyès, in turn planned their own coup, which took place on 18 Brumaire, Year VIII (9 November 1799) that put Napoleon Bonaparte in power. FRENCH REVOLUTIONARY CALENDAR A method of dating set up by the Jacobin government in October 1793 to give France a time system reflective of the new political realities. The Jacobins retrospectively set the first day of the first year as 22 September 1792, the day the French national government abolished the monarchy. Each year thus began in September, and the calendar endured into the Napoleonic era before it was abandoned.Revolutionary Calendar years were divided into 12 months of 30 days, followed by five or six additional days.

The additional days at the end of the year (sans culottides) were Virtue Day, Genius Day, Labor Day, Reason Day, Rewards Day, and Revolution Day (the leap day).

Leap years (with a sixth additional day) occurred on years III, VII, and XI.Vendémiaire, the month of vintage, mid-September through mid- October Brumaire, the month of fog, mid-October through mid- November Frimaire, the month of frost, mid-November through mid- December Nivôse, the month of snow, mid-December through mid-January Pluviôse, the month of rain, mid-January through mid-February Ventôse, the month of wind, mid-February through mid-March Germinal, the month of budding, mid-March through mid-April Floréal, the month of flowers, mid-April through mid-May Prairial, the month of meadows, mid-May through mid-June Messidor, the month of harvest, mid-June through mid-July Thermidor, the month of heat, mid-July through mid-August Fructidor, the month of fruit, mid-August through mid- SeptemberYear I (1792), Year II (1793-94), Year III (1794-95), Year IV (1795-96), Year V (17

96-97), Year VI (1797-98), Year VII (1798- 99), Year VIII (1799-1800), Year IX (1800-01), Year X (1801-02), Year XI (1802-03), Year XII (1803-04), Year XIII (1804-05), Year XIV (1805) JACOBIN CLUB The most influential of the political clubs that emerged during the French Revolution.

Originally known as the Breton Club, which grouped patriot deputies, and renamed Society of the Friends of the Constitution, it met at a former convent of the Jacobins on the rue Saint-Honoré that gave them their name. Affiliated clubs sprung up all over France. Initially, the Jacobins had a mostly middle-class membership, but as the Revolution radicalized, the membership reached further down the social scale to include many artisans and shopkeepers. During the trial of the King, moderates who opposed violence were excluded from the Paris club, which became a staunch supporter of the use of terror in defense of the revolutionary government. Despite this embrace of very advanced notions, this association with the government came to distance the club from the popular movement. Increasingly isolated from the sections and the sans-culottes, and even from the National Convention, the Jacobin Club suffered from the fate that befell Robespierre, one of its leading lights on 9 Thermidor (27 July). Public opinion blamed the Jacobins for the Terror, and the club was suppressed on 22 Brumaire Year III (12 November 1794).

The meeting place was even abolished and a White Terror against former Jacobins emerged in many places. However, the spirit of the Jacobins and Jacobinism survived. A Jacobin movement reemerged under the Directory in defense of the republic and did well in the elections of the Year VI (1798), but this movement was a shadow of its former self and soon faced renewed proscription, first under the Directory and then definitively under Bonaparte. Still today the term Jacobinism has meaning as a political commitment to small-propertied ownership of farms and shops. NATIONAL CONVENTION Elected in September 1792 to write a constitution that would not include the King, this body held power until 5 Brumaire Year IV (27 October 1795). Elected via universal manhood suffrage, this assembly functioned as both the executive and legislative branches of government. It tried the King, executed him after a lengthy and divisive trial, prosecuted a war with most of Europe, faced enormous fiscal problems and two internal rebellions.

In addition, a constitution written and submitted to the public in 1793 was suspended until the peace. The depth of these crises led it to resort to a systematic use of Terror as a method of facing the situation. The Convention also delegated much of its power to a twelve-member Committee of Public Safety headed by Maximillien Robespierre for nearly a year in 179394, until after the coup of 9 Thermidor (27 July). It took more than a year after the end of the Reign of Terror for the Convention to submit once again to the will of the voters, but it tried to limit continuing factionalism by promulgating a new constitutionthat of 1795and requiring that two-thirds of the deputies to the new legislature be current members of the Convention. Despite concrete achievements, the Convention failed to dampen factional violence and place the republic on secure footing. November 9, 1799. Legislative councils transferred to SaintCloud. Sieyès, Ducos, and Barras resign. Bonaparte appointed commander of the army in Paris.

Coup détat of 18 Brumaire Year VIII supported. The Executive Directory and the two legislative councils are overthrown. French Revolution: Search Babeufs Trial Long after sansculotte influence on the government had waned, social conflicts continued to drive some revolutionary events. Throughout 1794 and 1795, urban and rural radicals alike demanded "bread and the constitution of 1793," meaning that the government should feed the people and grant universal male suffrage. One such radical, who took the name Gracchus Babeuf, supposedly organized the "Conspiracy of Equals," a secret group that he hoped to lead in a surprise insurrection to take power and use it to distribute land equally among all citizens. When the "conspiracy" was betrayed, Babeuf was arrested and tried. Before being sentenced and executed, Babeuf offered a statement of his principles and a defense of his action. His attack on private property scandalized many at the time, but others later called him the first socialist. In short, to those who would look back to the Revolution as the unsuccessful birth of socialist movements, Babeuf would remain an inspiration.

To his contemporary critics, who were influenced in part by the Directorys successful propaganda, Babeufs conspiracy demonstrated the instability of the Republic and the need for forceful government repression of popular political activity. In their view, such an approach would ensure stability and prevent a return to the chaos of the Terror. The Calendar A reformed calendar was a goal of the revolutionaries who sought to remake not only the political system and the social order, but also the very experience of life. To rid the calendar of the malign influence of Christianity as a bulwark of tradition, in the fall of 1793 the Convention set up a committee to draft a new secular, rational calendar. Headed by the Dantonist PhilippeFrançois Fabre dEglantine, the committee filed the report excerpted below in October 1793. Bonaparte Saves the Day In the waning days of the Convention in the fall of 1795, royalistinfluenced sections in Paris revolted to prevent a new constitution that protected the position of the radicals. Bonaparte was delegated to put down the uprising of 5 October 1795 (13 Vendémiaire Year IV).

Bonapartes decisiveness and willingness to fire cannons on the demonstratorsin his words, to "give them a whiff of grapeshot"both consolidated the governments control and revealed how much the revolutionary state after Thermidor was dependent on the military. Day of 13 Vendemaire of the Year 4 In the waning days of the Convention in the fall of 1795, royalistinfluenced sections of Paris revolted to prevent the adoption of a new constitution that protected the position of the radicals. Bonaparte was delegated to put down the uprising of 5 October 1795 (13 Vendémiaire Year IV). Bonapartes decisiveness and willingness to fire cannons on the demonstratorsin his words, to "give them a whiff of grapeshot"consolidated the governments control, but revealed how much the revolutionary state after Thermidor was dependent on the military.

Revival of the Mountain The Directorys constitution had ensured the rights of assembly, free speech, and a limited suffrage; for former Jacobins now deprived of their clubs and of their power in the legislature, these constitutional liberties offered the potential to rebuild a democratic movement. To others, especially the Directorys leaders, the possibility of a revived network of clubs and newspapers represented more than just a desire to participate in politics under the terms of the new constitution; such a revival was too evocative of the Terror. Thus, one such leader, AntoineClaire Thibaudeau wrote here of Jacobin speeches in the legislature as trying "to reestablish the Terror." Chapter 7: War, Terror, and Resistance Complicating the controversy over the monarch in 1792 was the beginning of the war between France and the royal heads of state in Europe. Totally unprepared for war, the French immediately suffered losses; the popularity of the government, and indeed of the Revolution, waned. By the summer of 1793, France was increasingly divided between supporters and opponents of the Revolution. This chapter follows the efforts of those who favored continuing the Revolution and their reliance on terror to stay in power.

The opposition to their measures only mounted as the war continued into 1794. But eventually the Terrorists would triumph at home and abroad. This victory in August 1794 relieved the country of the need for such stringent regulation and this powerful government led by Robespierre fell. Over the next four years, France would be consumed by a continuing battle over the course of the country. FRENCH REVOLUTIONARY CALENDAR A method of dating set up by the Jacobin government in October 1793 to give France a time system reflective of the new political realities. The Jacobins retrospectively set the first day of the first year as 22 September 1792, the day the French national government abolished the monarchy. Each year thus began in September, and the calendar endured into the Napoleonic era before it was abandoned.Revolutionary Calendar years were divided into 12 months of 30 days, followed by five or six additional days. The additional days at the end of the year (sans culottides) were Virtue Day, Genius Day, Labor Day, Reason Day, Rewards Day, and Revolution Day (the leap day).

Leap years (with a sixth additional day) occurred on years III, VII, and XI.Vendémiaire, the month of vintage, mid-September through mid- October Brumaire, the month of fog, mid-October through mid- November Frimaire, the month of frost, mid-November through mid- December Nivôse, the month of snow, mid-December through mid-January Pluviôse, the month of rain, mid-January through mid-February Ventôse, the month of wind, mid-February through mid-March Germinal, the month of budding, mid-March through mid-April Floréal, the month of flowers, mid-April through mid-May Prairial, the month of meadows, mid-May through mid-June Messidor, the month of harvest, mid-June through mid-July Thermidor, the month of heat, mid-July through mid-August Fructidor, the month of fruit, mid-August through mid- SeptemberYear I (1792), Year II (1793-94), Year III (1794-95), Year IV (1795-96), Year V (17

96-97), Year VI (1797-98), Year VII (1798- 99), Year VIII (1799-1800), Year IX (1800-01), Year X (1801-02), Year XI (1802-03), Year XII (1803-04), Year XIII (1804-05), Year XIV (1805) October 5, 1795.

Uprising of Vendémiaire: Napoleon is instrumental in putting down a royalist revolt in Paris. Monsoonweddingsaleuk.net Monsoonweddingsaleuk.net Homepage Making Soft Cheese You need very little equipment for making soft cheese – a room with a constant atmosphere is needed (not too hot or too dry), and a good sized level table space. The majority of the other equipment can be adapted from ordinary kitchen utensils. Milk types – Unless you are sure that your source of milk supply is totally safe, it is best to heat-treat milk for soft cheese making, as deterioration can occur rapidly because of the high moisture content. To heat-treat milk, place it in a bucket or container and bring in to 65 degrees C, then cool it immediately by putting the bucket into running water as cold as you can get it. When cooled to 5 degrees C the starter can be added as per the instructions below. Starter will always be required if milk has been heat-treated. Starter is a growth of special cultures in sterile milk and is recommended as a way of ensuring the right proportions of the lactic-acid producing organisms. Milk treatment – Evening milk is best. Cool it and keep it overnight at a low temperature.

This will allow a little acidity to develop, but do not allow it to go sour, as this will spoil the cheese. You only need to use starter if the milk has been heat-treated or you wish to heat-treat the milk yourself. If raw milk is used, raise the temperature directly to 35 degrees C. Add the rennet – Do this as soon as the milk is the right temperature; it must be cheese making rennet and not that used for junket. Soft cheeses use less rennet than semi-hard cheeses, and as the milk is “sweet” the curds take longer to form. The rennet should be diluted one part rennet too 6 parts water to ensure thorough mixing. Mix this into the milk and top-stir until coagulation takes place. Cover your bucket and leave until the curds can be handled - the time needed will vary according to the recipe. Sterilize the boards, hoops or tins and mats which you intend to use and leave them standing in hot water until the curds are ready to handle. Slice the curd – Fairly large pieces of curd are fine for soft cheese as they do not need a lot of drainage, the pieces must pack down slowly into the hoops.

Gently scoop the curds straight from the bucket using a skimmer or scoop, being careful not to break the curd more than necessary. Temperature is really important in the making of soft cheese, and during this time it should be maintained at about 18 degrees C. If the curds get too cold, the whey will not be expelled quickly enough and the curd will not sink into the hoop. Forming the Cheese – Remove the equipment from the hot water and get it ready. Hoops should be placed on mats on boards. The curd is ready if it leaves the side of the bucket when a little is pulled away with the finger. Some soft cheeses are given “tops”; to do this press the hoop which you are going to use on the surface of the curd to give you the size, then scoop out this piece very carefully and slide it onto a clean plate. Make enough “tops” so that you have one for each cheese that you are going to make. Then ladle out the rest of the curd in the bucket, into the hoops. Go on filling up the moulds till the curd reaches the top, then let it shrink a little.

You can speed this up by scooping out the whey from the top. Continue until all the curd is filled into the mould, then as soon as possible slide the “top” on to the curd. Leave the moulds in a warm place for 12-14 hours for the whey to drain. To drain out-of-mould – If you are using double moulds, then you can remove the top half as soon as the level has sunk sufficiently, otherwise you are end up with the more tricky job of turning out the cheese without breaking it. If you are using tins with the bottom cut out and holes pierced in the sides, remember that there must not be a rim at either end or you will never be able to turn the cheese out. Get ready a board and mat for each cheese by boiling and allowing to dry. Then twenty-four hours after you have made your cheese, put a mat over each cheese in its hoop and then a board on the mat. Keeping a hand firmly on each end, turn the whole thing over and leave to drain for twenty-four hours. By now the cheese should be firm enough to remove from the hoop.

Turn it out onto a clean straw mat, and if you like you can sprinkle some salt in the exposed surface. Keep the cheese in a cool, dry place and turn in every day. You can add salt while the cheese is draining, but be careful not to add too much. Just sprinkle a little on the exposed surfaces for the first two or three turnings. If mould starts to grow on the surface, wipe with a damp cloth, and put the cheese in a colder, drier place. For home use, simply wrap lightly in greaseproof paper. Follow us on Facebook Aluminium Gates: Aluminium Gates are a lightweight yet durable solution to secure your entrance to your property. Stylish and elegant, they offer a weather resistant entrance solution. Old & Odd Recipes Rook Pie Take your rooks and pluck and dress them. Cut off the heads, wings and feet and skin them – all these parts are bitter – so you are left with the breast and legs. Put in a large saucepan with a bunch of thyme, marjoram and sage and an onion. Cook slowly until the meat falls off the bones. Remove all the meat and layer in a casserole dish with slices of hard-boiled eggs.

Make a jelly from the liquor with ½ oz powdered gelatine per pint of liquor and pour over the meat and eggs until covered. Top the pie with any kind of pastry and bake until brown. Allow to cool overnight and eat the next day, sliced into wedges, with salad. Stelk Chop a couple of dozen old large spring onions into small lengths and simmer in milk until tender. Steam or boil a large dish of potatoes. Mash the potatoes with a little milk. Strain the onions and add to the potatoes, mixing well. Serve and add a knob of butter to each plate. Scotch Scrapple Add 1 cup of oatmeal to 1 ¼ cups boiling water with ½ tsp of salt. Stirring constantly, cook for 20 minutes or until thick. Crumble ½ cup pork sausage meat into the oats and stir well. Pour into a narrow dish and leave overnight. The next day, cut into slices, dip in flour and fry in a little fat until nicely browned on both sides. Wiltshire Piglets Mix together 4 ounces of flour and ½ tsp salt in a basin.

Add the yolk of one egg, 1tbsp cooking oil and enough water to make a batter that will coat the back of a spoon. Beat well and allow to stand for 30 minutes. Take 1 lb sausage meat and form into small balls. Whisk the egg white until it is stiff and stir it into the batter. Coat each pork ball with batter and deep fry until brown. Beestings Cheese Beestings is the milk a cow gives just after calving. The first milking is very deep in colour. Fill an oven-proof dish with milk from the second milking and stir in 2 tbsp of syrup, mixing well. Spread the cream from the first milking on top of the milk and put into a moderate oven. Bake until golden brown and firm to touch. Fluffin Simmer barley and milk until it is smooth. Add grated nutmeg and sugar to taste, and a few drops of brandy. To be served on Christmas Eve, and offered to strangers within the door. Hatted Kit Warm 2 pints of buttermilk slightly and pour it into a dish. Add enough rennet for 3 pints. Carry the dish to the side of you cow.

Milk into the dish about 1 pint of milk. Allow to stand for a while, then lift the curd and place it on a sieve. Press the curd to release the whey. When the curd is quite stiff, turn into a bowl and stir in whipped cream, sugar, nutmeg to taste. Scruggin Cake Scruggins are the small bits of fat left after the flare (fat surrounding the kidneys, etc) has been rendered. Chop 12 oz scruggins into small pieces and add to 1 lb self-raising flour and 8oz sugar. Mix well then add enough milk and water to make a soft dough. Roll out to about 1 inch thick and press into a well-greased square tin. Mark the top of the cake into squares and sprinkle with a little caster sugar. Bake in a moderate oven for about 30 minutes. Check out tiny tim's tearoom for more ideas. Black Pudding When a pig is killed, catch the blood in a basin, emptying it into a bucket when full. While the blood is still hot, stir it with your hand to remove the veins – they will stick to your fingers.

Then boil 1lb of groats in a cloth for 20 minutes. Cut up 1lb of back fat into small dice. Mince 1 lb of onions. Mix the groats, fat and onions together in a large basin. Add the blood and 4oz of flour. Season with 2oz salt, 1oz pepper and ½ oz sage. Mix all together and fill sausage skins. Simmer at about 80 degrees C for 25-30 minutes. Treacle Posset Bring 1 pint of milk almost to the boil. Add 2 tbsp treacle and the juice of a lemon, and boil slowly until the curd separates. Strain and serve hot. Good for colds. The Months of the Year “The month of January is like a gentleman (As he begins so he goes on)” – Old Spanish Saying January is named after Janus, the two-headed god of the Romans. This first month is appropriately named, because Janus was the god of Beginnings and Ends. He is usually depicted carrying a key in the left hand. His temple in the Forum at Rome had the gates open in the times of war, and closed in the time of peace.

It is recorded that the gates were only shut on three occasions. January starts with the New Year’s Day celebrations; on the 6th is Twelfth Night (Christmas decorations must come down). In Scotland, Burn’s Night is celebrated on the 25th. “There is always one fine week in February” – Traditional Saying The name February is derived from Februa, a Roman festival of purification. The occasion was regarded as one for spiritual cleansing. Leap years, where there is a 29th of February, occur every four years. A leap year can be divided by four without a remainder, e.g. 2012. However, in the last year of a century the normal leap year is missed (as in 1800 and 1900) unless the date is divisible by 400 (as in the year 2000). St Valentine’s Day is celebrated on the 14th, when it is customary for sweethearts to exchange anonymous greetings cards. “March dust to be sold, Worth ransom of gold” – Thomas Tusser March is named in honour of Mars, an ancient Roman god who was identified with war.

The temple Mars Altor in the Forum was described by Ovid. A small part of the ruin still remains. In this month the national days of Wales (St David’s Day) and of Ireland (St. Patrick’s Day) are celebrated. The arrival of spring is marked by the vernal equinoxial ceremonies “The uncertain glory of an April day” – Shakespeare April is derived from the Latin word Aprilis. The month of April is often called The Opener (aperire, Latin “to open”). The reason for this name is not too far to seek, since it is in this month that Nature wakes from winter, and the buds burst into leaf. The opening of the month is always marked by the customary All Fools’ Day. St George’s Day is celebrated on the 23rd April. “Farmers fear unkindly May, Frost by night and hail by day” – Flanders & Swann May is called after the goddess Maia, one of the seven daughters of Atlas whom the ancients believed to be carrying the world on his shoulders. Maia, the most beautiful of the sisters, was identified with the glories of spring. The old English custom of dancing round the maypole is now less widespread.

Since 1917, May Day has also been set aside for international labour celebrations. “When June is come, than all the day I’ll sit with my love in the scented hay” – Robert Bridges The origin of the name “June” (Junius) is uncertain. It is supposed to have been named in honour of the goddess Juno, the queen of heaven. June was regarded by the ancients as the most favourable month for marriage. Juno was regarded as the genius of womanhood and the guardian of finances. Midsummer’s Day is celebrated at the Druid’s shrine, Stonehenge in Wiltshire. “Then came hot July, boyling like to fire” – Spenser July was named by Julius Caesar after himself when he reorganised the calendar. Caesar, it will be recalled, conquered Britain and was an outstanding soldier, writer and emperor. In the French Revolutionary calendar this month was called Messidor, meaning the harvest month. On the 15th is St Swithin’s Day. Legend has it that, if it rains on this day, it will rain at some time during each of the next forty days.

“The English winter – ending in July, To recommence in August” – Lord Byron August is named after the Emperor Augustus, a grand-nephew of Julius Caesar, whose original name was Octavius. His flatterers called him “Augustus” meaning “the noble one”. After thirty-one days in July, one would expect August to be a short month. However, the Romans did not want Augustus to be jealous of Julius Caesar’s extra day, and therefore, taking a day from September, they tacked it on to the end of August. “September blow soft, Fill the fruits in the loft!” The ninth month in our calendar is called after the Latin adjective “September – belonging to the seventh month”, because March used to be the first month. The earliest record of the use of the word “September” in England was in the reign of Edward the Confessor 1042-1066. The word “septembered” means tinted with autumnal shades. This month in the old Saxon calendar was called Gerst Monath meaning “the Barley Month”. Autumn begins on the 23rd of the month and Michaelmas Day is on the 29th.

“This, our golden month, October.” – Young October is the Latin adjective meaning pertaining to the eight month, although it was in fact, the tenth month ever the since the year 153 B.C. when 1 January became the first day of the year in the Roman calendar. In Saxon times it was known as Win Monath – wine month – or the time of the vintage. In the French Revolutionary calendar the period most nearly corresponding with October was called Vendemiare. The last day of the month is Hallowe’en, the eve of All Saints Day. “November’s sky is chill and drear” November, literally the ninth but actually the eleventh month, used to be called in Saxon times Wind Monath – the month of wind – or Blot Monath – the month of slaughter. The latter name alluded to a principal activity at that time of year in those days, namely killing cattle and salting meat in readiness for the winter. November 5th has long been celebrated as the anniversary of the capture of Guy Fawkes. Remembrance Day is marked by the Cenotaph ceremony. The last day of November is celebrated as St Andrew’s Day.

“O derty December, For Christmas Remember” – Thomas Tusser The last month of the year was called Mid-winter Monath in Saxon England. The name frimaire, meaning month of hoar frost, was used in the French revolutionary calendar iuntil it was abolished in 1806. Napoleon III of France was called the “Man of December” because of all the landmarks of his life occurred during the last month of the year. The greatest feast of the year falls on the 25th – Christmas Day. A good day to buy >Weight Lifting Gloves In Scotland, particularly, New Year’s Eve, Hogmanay, calls for special festivity.

Question: Which month in the French Revolutionary Calendar was equivalent to June and had a name meaning "harvest"?
Answer: Messidor